Welcome to Costa Amandola

..unless they do fried bread and Heinz beans. 

They missed out Black Pudding as well, so deserves a thumbs down!!

Wot no Builders Tea and HP sauce .... scandalous.

Guess you are writing tongue in cheek Badger....the B&B got excellent reviews in tripadvisor and the photos look wonderful!....bit of inadvertant promotion on your part!

Afterthought ....they probably went to The Little British Shop in Servigliano for the bacon!.

You believe in TA then Angie. Loads of single posts, so not worth looking at for a recommend. Obviously they have never travelled. Sure you plugged the LBFS, but then that is expected. Nothing wrong with Italian speck, at least not the white scum that comes out. Your guests now get a welcome pack of bacon???

Self-catering at our place Badger!

I always look at TA as you usually get varied opinions about a place that doesn't show on a hotel's website.  I don't take it as a recommendation but get the gist of a place. What is wrong with bacon and egg for breakfast?  I really enjoy it when on holiday as we don't have it at home and it has been served in all the hotels we have stayed in Italy. 

Self-catering at our place Badger! No welcome pack of bacon and half a dozen eggs ..........shame on you. Guests might miss it being away from home.

What is wrong with bacon and egg for breakfast?  I really enjoy it when on holiday as we don't have it at home Is Bournmouth totally Muslim then??

Haven't stayed in a hotel in Bournemouth for about 20 years so don't know what they serve. So what do you have for breakfast Badger?

No breakfast normaly Joy, large coffee and a few cigarettes. If in a hotel here for work, then cold meats with bread rolls usually, plus a few coffees.

Most of my guests are German or Dutch, not sure what they normally have for breakfast, but seems to be here cold meats and lots of cheese....plus hard boiled eggs, and bread and jam...very much like Amsterdam then as I remember it. But really all about having a good time in Italy and enjoying themselves, and the food available.

Tut tut Badger Fags are a real no no in the morning! Coffee not much better for you either!!  (Sound like your mother!!) Ham, cheese rolls we have lunchtime with salad hence I don't like it for breakfast but each to his own!

Unfortunately Jo. My mother died when I was in my early 20's, but had no objection to me smoking. I dislike the taste of tea, so prefer coffee. Did drink tea in Saudi Arabia, but only with mint or cardoman coffee. Anyway, lunch here, can be anything from Tabouleh, Spanish tortilla, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, Thai duck or prawn soup, cold meats with gherkins, onions and tomato, or salad, Hummus, just to name a few. Very occasionly a pasta. Dinner: Varies from stir fries, shnitzels, Thai curries, barbequed ribs, fillet steak or pork, roast lamb, minced pork with basil, red roast pork, steamed fish curry, chilli con carne, beef stroganoff, bouef bourginion, guineafowl, rabbit, plus a variety of other middle eastern and Asiatic dishes.   Now you know some of my eating habits!!!

I'm coming to your house for lunch Badger.

You have made me feel very hungry now Badger so I have despatched my hubby to the kitchen! ...and give him your list for ideas for other days!!

So you are eating non italian food then hhhhmmmm

You're welcome Esme. http://www.food.com/recipe/couscous-tabbouleh-132013 Joy, if you make the minced pork dish, you have to use a lot more Italian basil, as it is very mild. When I made my seed orders this year, forgot to order the Holy Basil which is far better. Son who has a hydroponics vegetable business in Thailand, is growing Italian basil for the Italian restaurants there, as the local stuff is too strong for them. http://www.realthairecipes.com/recipes/stir-fried-pork-with-holy-basil/ Pat H: Of course eating Italian food. Meat, vegetables, cheese etc. I suppose you could also say the baby corn, bird chillies, lemon grass, pea aubergines are as well, as grow them here. Have the odd pizza, very little pasta, (as advised by my Italian doctor), as even though spaghetti etc are chlorestrol free, the sauce can make the levels high. It is always good to have a variety of food. If I had to just eat Italian because I live here, then I would have never come here. Having  Asian/Middle Eastern food sources, make life far more enjoyable as a resident.

ooh don't know what my basil is -  not very strong flavoured - got the pot from Tesco!  My hubby shoves herbs in everything!  Never had thai food but I will take a look at your recipe link and see how we get on. thanks for the link!

Thai Holy Basil is quite spicy, as against Italian. Any other recipes that you want, just let me know. Last night we had slow cooked pork ribs, with pineapple, peppers, baby sweet corn. They were cooked in a sauce of pineapple juice, tomato, chilli, ginger, Marsala, soy and garlic. Served on a bed of basmati rice. Melt in your mouth food!!

Stop it Badger!....we have salad tonight. But did manage cous cous last night with roast veg and chicken, how do you do it when its so hot and most people I know here are exhausted, and a limp lettuce leaf is all they can manage to cook!.

Hi Angie. Have been used to cooking 12 chinese dishes for a dinner party in Saudi Arabia, where temps were higher. 40 steaks for a consulate party, so no problem in that heat. Only have cous cous as a tabouleh, it is far more refreshing, after or with a main meal. As regard to the other meals, prepare them early and then cook later. Try this for lunch with fresh bread: 2 cans tuna finely chopped onion (silverskin are good) finely chopped cucumber (or use cetriolli ) Mix all together, add mayonnaise, garlic, and cayenne pepper if you like spicy. I do add tomato sauce, to give a little more colour. When you get to a smooth paste, its ready!!

Had a lovely Turbot (Rombo) from Eurospin last week. Cooked on the BBQ ..... melt in the mouth!! Having been used to cooking stuffed Red Snapper, but of a decent size, it was a nice change. They had some nice monkfish tails as well, as would use them in a steamed fish curry. No banana leaves here, so have to use cabbage leaves.

Long, long ago in a far off land.. I was dressed in an Abaya and veil and taken by car over the bridge from Bahrain to Saudi - I won the bet that I wouldn't be discovered - hate to think what trouble I would have gotten into if I had been - it was to have dinner with some Saudi families - which was an absolute feast and well worth the risk. Never seen anything like it - I'm sure you know what I mean Badger.

Nipped in Sainsbury late this evening for a couple of items and there was loads of stuff reduced.  Not one to pass up on a bargain I bought several items and one was a large pack of pork ribs reduced to £2!!  Wish now I had bought the 2 but I didn't like to appear greedy.  Anyway Badger your recipe will be used upon said ribs in the next couple of days (instead of just roasting like we normally do) Sod the diet - I'll run round the beach later, much later....!!!!

    I have to be very creative when I am in Italy...it is difficult to eat out, as there is not much choice!  

Robert is a vegetarian, we have lived here for nearly 7 years now and eating out is not a problem, if we go to a new place to eat we will phone ahead and explain.I am sorry you have not found delicious things to eat Casa Monal, whilst rural Marche food is very meat based, there are lots of pasta, pizza and bean based dishes plus inventive salads that can be enjoyed by vegetaran and non vegetarians alike. .

You are right about food choice being limited. Even though we are not vegetarian, we rarely eat out now, as everything tastes the same wherever you go. First year was ok, but never anything to write home about!!

You were lucky getting into Saudi. Yes the food is great there. Lovely slow baked goat with rice eaten on the beach, with 30 odd Saudi friends from the office. Fantastic when it was the break of the fast during Ramadan, with the street food stalls. Used to buy a bag of Samosa, to take back to appartment to snack on. It was a eye opening 4 years there with what Supermarkets there were also excellent, the meat counter gave a choice of Irish, Scottish. American beef etc, and you could usualy choose whether grain or grass fed. Lebanese, Japanese, Fillipino, Turkish, Korean restaurants all over. Could have pizza there as well, but with a decent thick topping, not like here.

Shame about the ban on booze and the fact that women have to cover themselves from head to toe!..... really its a pity you are no longer enjoying Italian food Badger when it has so much to offer for eveyone.

Our biggest problem when eating out in Italy is the lack of veg also we have had salad in a couple of places that consisted of just lettuce and tomato!  The first pizza we had was in Levanto and the base was like concrete.  Ham and cheese etc topping was fine but what was with the greasy fried egg slapped on the top!!  Our local fisherman has brought round 2 lovely crabs and 2 lobsters just now so that's us sorted for the next couple of days!!

No problem with the booze Angie. Consulates had loads of beer, spirits etc. Spent one afternoon unloading a 20ft diplomatic sealed container full of it. Johnny Walker whisky on the black market was £80 a bottle, not that I ever needed to buy it. Used to make our own wine as well there. Siddique was another good drink, 80% alcohol, but good with tonic and a slice of lemon.

Where I was in Jeddah, Angie, Western women were not so restricted. When we went to the beach on a Friday, there were lots of Europeans in bikinis and swimsuits. The Religious Police used to drive past, but were never a problem. Riyadh was always a problem with the dress code. If you were a good friend of a Saudi, as I was, then they would normaly allow their wife to remove the veil. Even though I was a European. Everything can get overhyped!!!

Our local fisherman has brought round 2 lovely crabs and 2 lobsters just now so that's us sorted for the next couple of days!! Great, wish there were decent ones here!! Chilli crab is a lovely meal, albeit a bit messy to eat!!!! Had it a few times in Singapore. http://chefmasterclasses.com/2011/02/worlds-best-singapore-chilli-crab-r... This one may be easier: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/singapore-style-chili-...

I loved being in the ME I remember Dubai as a small village full of pearl fishermen and wooden Dhows built entirely by hand.  It was fun the first tiime I ventured there on a duty free shopping spree and Visa exchange.  The local taxi driver was ordered to take me to the gold souk and when we got there, I saw row upon row upon row of shiny, golden, glistening 'tat' hanging on nails and hooks outside tiny little workshops.. so much it couldn't possbily be real! "Yes, yes, very nice" I said, "Now, can you take me to the real gold souk please?" "But madam... we have already arrived" came the reply. Visions of how I could shovel all this 22ct 'tat' into my handbag raced across my mind more times than I care to remember... Luckily, I managed to keep both hands.

i agree entirely. hence why the comment about bacon and eggs....certainly a lot more interesting than a coffee and a bun,no? Lost with that comment. You serve bacon & eggs as well?

Pork fillet in strips, stir fried with garlic & chilli, then pineapple. basil and green beans added. Little fish sauce and served on a bed of basmati rice.

"whilst rural Marche food is very meat based, there are lots of pasta, pizza and bean based dishes plus inventive salads" I have been a vegetarian for nigh on 40 years and I could'nt face an exclusively carbohydrate meal every time I went out to eat. Pasta, pizza and bean based dishes is not a balanced diet and no matter how inventive a salad is it is still generally a green salad which is mainly water and a few minerals. Meat is a complete and balanced food and meat eaters can, and invariably do, suffice quite adequately in the short term, eating no vegetables other than potatoes. As a vegetarian I eat a substantial amount, and very wide range of, vegetables and non meat derived foods. Italy was once famous for the wealth of excellent quality vegetables and fruit. You see them in the Italian supermarkets but very few people seem to buy them these days; prefering to fill their trolleys with manufactured trash and Cola. You see vegetables growing everywhere in Italy. Everyone in the country seems to have a beautiful well ordered veg patch but, if invited to dine with them, not a single vegetable will appear. The same is true for restaurants and, as for phoning ahead, it rarely made any difference. You get told there is no problem---lots of vegetarian things to eat, and when you turn up, whilst the others are eating meat you get given a big lump of cheese and a knife! Italians don't view chicken as meat, so it creeps into everything; especially chicken stock. And the same can be said of pancetta. Sprat

yes,we do sometimes (bacon and eggs that is) but also soft boiled eggs, pecorino cheese,local ham,smoked fish, fresh fruit, omlette with funghi,yoghurt, and for some very elderly japanese the other week (in a state of abstinence from their customary diet) miso soup,steamed basmati rice and raw gamberetti served in japanese bowls and chopsticks etc.Personally i think there's a lot more to breakfast than a capuccino and an indifferent brioche or a bun which still,unfortunately,characterizes a large number of hotels and the like in Italy with some exceptions or unless you start spending considerably more on your room rate....

Would be interested how you made the "Dashi" for the miso soup. With regard to the raw prawns, have had those many times, usualy marinated in lime juice and fish sauce, but that is Thai style. Must admit in most hotels I stay in on business, there has always been the cheese, meats, fish etc. Cappucino ...... never for me!!

Would be interested to know where the Chinese shop is, as would like to get some black bean sauce.

Try;- http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/porkinblackbeansauce_67795      [without the pork of course]

This is the one I am more used to eating: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/spareribs/r/ribsblackbean.htm Thanks for the alternative. Just need the sauce now!!!